| A blessing always carries with it a responsibility. -- J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (General
Conference Report, October 1954, page 38)
A commandment is a lamp to show us the right course. -- ElRay L. Christiansen (Ensign, May 1975,
p 23)
A covenant made with God should be regarded not as restrictive but as protective. -- Russell M. Nelson
(Ensign, March 2002, p 21-22)
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and
you get neither. -- Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) English
author
All religions must be tolerated...
for every man must get to heaven in his own way. -- Epictetus All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him
than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word,
'darkness' on the walls of his cell. -- Clive Staples Lewis
(1898-1963) English author
A man with God is always in the majority. -- John Knox
Among all my patients in the second half of life (over 35), there has not been one whose problems in
the last resort were not that of finding a religious outlook on life. It is safe to say that everyone of
them fell ill because he or she had lost that which the living religions of every age have given to their
followers, and none of them has really healed who did not regain his religious outlook. -- Dr Carl Jung,
psychologist
An outward observance without any real inward meaning is only a ceremony. -- Alfred Edersheim, The
Temple, Its Ministry and Services, p. 106
Anyone who chooses not to go to church because his parents "forced" him to go as a child,
because the meetings are too long or too boring, because his children are too fidgety, because of an
unwise act or or comment by a church leader or member, because he wants "to make my own
choices," or because the church's moral standards are too demanding is only trying to rationalize a
choice he already knows is bad for him, his family, and those around him. -- Blaine Nay
As the world grapples with more efficient ways of managing time, it lures us into more and more earthly
pursuits. But life is not a struggle with time--it is a struggle between good and evil. -- Keith B.
McMullin, Ensign, Nov 2002, p 94
As you work with your associates to help them with their faith, you will save them and also yourselves.
-- Gordon B. Hinckley (167th Annual General Conference, April 1997, Priesthood session)
Atheism is a non-prophet organization. -- Author Unknown
Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday! -- Author Unknown
Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish. -- Albert
Einstein
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between
man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his
worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and
not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole
American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof," thus building a wall of separation between church and State. --
Thomas Jefferson (letter to a Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association,
Connecticut, 1 Jan 1802)
Biblical social scientists have an advantage because they know truths
about human nature. Those who dismiss the Bible and create surveys that
don't measure crucial factors are the ones who have closed minds. Sometimes
the Bible gives us clear answers and sometimes it doesn't, but it always
helps us to ask the right questions. -- Marvin Olasky
Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite
easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. --
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) English author
Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is
on its knees. -- Victor Hugo
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of
infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately
important. -- Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) English author
Come early to church for a good seat in the back. -- Author Unknown
Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval. -- Thomas S. Monson (Ensign,
November 1986, page 41)
Crowds cannot make right what God has declared to be wrong. -- Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign, November
1988, page 33)
Deep faith eliminates fear. -- Lech Walesa
Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church. -- Author Unknown
Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church. -- Author Unknown
Don't you think the commandments should be rewritten? The answer was, No, they should be reread.-- Richard
L. Evans (Ensign, Dec. 1971, page 57)
Duty: Something we look forward to with distaste, do with reluctance, and boast about forever. Joe
Smyly, Northridge, California (Ensign, Feb. 1972, page 80)
Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end? --
Tom Stoppard
Every dimension of the gospel is relevant to one or more of our social
and political problems of our time. -- Meal A. Maxwell (New Era, Feb 1975, p
38)
Every Latter-day Saint has spiritual obligations in four basic areas: his
home, his church, his job and his citizenship responsibility. Each of these
areas should receive consistent attention although not necessarily equal
time. Are we doing our duty in these important fields? What about our
citizenship responsibility-our obligation to safeguard our freedom and
preserve the Constitution… May we as a free people face courageously the
challenging responsibility, which face us. 'All that is necessary for the
triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.' (Edmund Burke) We are not here
to sit by complacently while our birthright of freedom is exchanged for a
mess of Socialist-Communist pottage. -- Ezra Taft Benson, Conference
Report, Apr 1963
Every logical position will eventually lead you into trouble, and heresy, and chaos. Every logical
position is consistent, but it is logic which is in the human mind, not God's logic. The human mind is
finite and cannot grasp eternity, and therefore the finite mind sees the infinite as not graspable
coherently. If we could grasp it all coherently, without contradiction, we would be God. The person who
insists on being logical to the end winds up in a mess. I am not saying that we should not be rational. I
am not anti-intellectual. I am saying that the intellect by itself is helpless to arrive at total truth.
-- Kenneth L. Pike
Everyone is a house with four rooms: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Unless we go into
every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person. -- Rumer Godden
Everything that used to be a sin is now a disease. -- Bill Maher
Every time we are obedient to the words of the prophets and apostles we
reap great blessings. We receive more blessings than we can understand at
the time, and we continue to receive blessings long after our initial
decision to be obedient. -- Paul V. Johnson (Ensign, Nov 2005, p 52)
Faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does
not come to us by our command but is the result of doing the will of our
Heavenly Father. -- George Albert Smith, Oct 1913
Faith is the element that builds the bridge in the absence of concrete evidence. -- Howard W. Hunter (Ensign,
May 1975, p 37)
Father forgive us, for we do not what we know. -- Gordon B. Hinckley (Christmas Devotional, December
1998)
Get down on your knees and thank God you are still on your feet. -- Irish Proverb
God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view
Christians as fools...and He has not been disappointed....If I have brought
any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded
as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the
contempt of the sophisticated world. -- Antonin Scalia, US Supreme Court
Justice
God does not love us because we are lovable, have a pleasing personality
or a good sense of humor, or at rare times show exceptional kindness. In
spite of who we are and what we have done, God wants to pour out His love on
us, for the unlovable are also precious unto Him. -- David B. Haight (Ensign,
Nov 1982, p 10)
God does not send thunder is a still small voice is enough. -- Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign, November
1976, page 14)
God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart. -- Izaak Walton
(1593-1683) English writer
God is not against us for our sins. God is for us against our sins. --
David A. Seamands
God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the
electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged
and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the
challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the
pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man
might know the joys and glories of creation. -- Thomas S. Monson (Ensign,
Mar 1988)
God listens to the heart, not to words. -- Gaston M. Carrier
God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts. -- Author Unknown
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we removed
their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are a gift from God? --
Inscription on a wall of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC
Greed has replaced religion as the national religion, and with greed comes envy. -- Wesley Pruden
Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you're alive, it isn't. --
Richard Bach
Here's a note to [atheist] Michael Newdow, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and all the other
humor-impaired individuals whose time is spent obsessing on such Earth-shaking issues as the total
elimination of religious references from the public venue. God just called ... and he says you should get
a life. -- Ron Marr
He who makes no effort to learn of the existence of Deity will, in this life, likely not learn there is
a Deity. But his ignorance does not warrant him in declaring there is no God. -- Joseph F. Merrill (The
Truth-Seeker and Mormonism, p 76-77)
He who seeks God has already found him. -- Graham Greene
Hope is knowing that whatever comes, the Lord can whisper peace. -- Dwane J. Young (Ensign,
November 1986, page 86)
How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep Holidays than
Commandments. -- Benjamin Franklin
How we observe the Sabbath indicates our feelings towards our Father in Heaven. -- LeGrand R. Curtis (Ensign,
November 1990, page 13)
I believe many of us are overnourished on entertainment junk food and
undernourished on the bread of life. -- Dallin H. Oaks (Ensign, May
2001, p 84)
I do not think I could myself,
be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of,
and scoffer at, religion. -- Abraham Lincoln
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect
has intended us to forgo their use. -- Galileo Galilei
If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing
the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July
speakers - normally good Americans who fail to comprehend what is required
to keep our country strong and free - Americans who have been lulled away
into a false security. -- Ezra Taft Benson (General Conference Report,
Apr 1968)
If God dwells inside us, like some people say, I sure hope he likes enchiladas, because that's what
He's getting! -- Jack Handey
If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it? --
Benjamin Franklin
If one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him, and if one man fails, the whole world
fails to that extent. -- Mahatma Gandhi
If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is
utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service
agency to help us only in our emergencies. We should remember the Most High
day and night-always-not only at times when all other assistance has failed
and we desperately need help. -- Howard W. Hunter (Ensign, Nov 1977,
p 52)
If prayer is to leave the public schools, let the ridicule of prayer leave also. -- Boyd K. Packer (Ensign,
September 1973, page 38)
If religious ideas are not true, of what good is religion? If science
ignores truths simply because they wear religious labels, of what good is
science? -- Selwyn Duke
If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. --
Albert Einstein
If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news? -- Robert
Anthony, Author
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. Though you are
amused by my saying this, I'm quite serious about it. -- Hugh Nibley
If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns. -- Author Unknown
If you serve a mission faithfully and well, you will be a better husband, you will be a better father,
you will be a better student, a better worker in your chosen vocation. Love is of the essence of this
missionary work. Selflessness is of its very nature. Self-discipline is its requirement. Prayer opens its
reservoir of power. -- Gordon B. Hinckley (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p 356)
If you value your safety, avoid holy places founded in the name of peace and brotherhood. -- Ashleigh
Brilliant
I have often expressed my sentiments, that every man, conducting himself
as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious
opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the
dictates of his own conscience. -- George Washington (letter to the General
Committee of the United Baptist Churches in Virginia, May 1789)
I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through
the U.S. Congress. -- Ronald Reagan
Imagine the appeals, dissents, and remandments, if lawyers had written the Ten Commandments. -- George
Harrison Bender
I'm an atheist and I thank God for it. -- George Bernard Shaw
Important principles may and must be inflexible. -- Abraham Lincoln
In a time when a single American atheist can get the Supreme Court to consider his demand that the
words 'under God' be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, the rest of us must pray that his lawsuit
fails. An Alabama judge whose Ten Commandments monument offended someone has been censured. A U.S. Army
lieutenant general who told people he was proud to be a Christian had to promise to keep that to himself.
The message is clear -- if you believe in God, for God's sake, keep it to yourself! -- Alan Caruba
In reality, the communication or hearing about divine truth can be
summarized in three words: revelation, commandments, blessings. However, it
is going to be a lifetime challenge to first hear and then heed the voice of
the Lord and His servants....Spiritual preparation is a prerequisite to
receive a personal spiritual impression....We must become 'a saint through
the atonement of Christ the Lord' and also become 'as a child, submissive,
meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to' the will of the
Lord, meaning His commandments. Then says the Lord, 'When we obtain any
blessing..., it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated'
(D&C 130:21). -- Charles Didier (Ensign, Nov 2005, p 48-49)
Intellectual methods—study and reason—are essential to our progress
toward eternal life, but they are not sufficient. They can prepare the way.
They can get the mind ready to receive the Spirit. But what the scriptures
call conversion—the change of mind and heart that gives us the direction and
strength to move resolutely toward eternal life—comes only by the witness
and power of the Holy Spirit. -- Dallin H. Oaks (Ensign, Dec 1998, p
7)
In the acquisition of Sacred knowledge, scholarship and reason are not alternatives to revelation. They
are a means to an end, and the end is revelation from God. -- Dallin H. Oaks (LDS Speaker's Sourcebook,
page 230)
In the supposed state of nature, all men are equally bound by the laws of nature, or to speak more
properly, the laws of the Creator. -- Samuel Adams
It appears that the Soviets are now going to allow prayer in school. One
wonders how soon the United States will catch up. -- Jeff Cooper, Jun 1990
It's interesting that the very same people who insist that there must be
a wall of separation between church and our state cannot even begin to
conceive of a wall of separation between Mexico and our state. --
Selwyn Duke
It is not enough to belong to a religion. You also have to put it into practice. Religion is like
medicine -- you have to ingest it to combat the illness. -- The Dalai Lama
It is possible to worship God while driving along the highway or sitting in a baseball park. But if we
raise the question of statistical probability, the worship of God is scarcely as frequent in those places
as in houses built in his honor. There is the story of the father who said, "Come on, we can sing
hymns on the beach," to which his little girl replied, "But we won't, will we?" -- George
Hedley (The Superstitions of the Irreligious)
It is safe to tell the pure in
heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. -- C. S.
Lewis
It is the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at stated seasons, to
worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe.
And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person,
liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to the
dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or
sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct
others in their religious worship. -- John Adams (Thoughts on Government,
1776)
It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and
such only, as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent
both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil
Society. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he
must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe. -- James
Madison (A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785)
It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly and
at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and
Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or
restrained in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the
manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or
for his religion profession of sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the
public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship. --
Massachusetts Bill of Rights, Part the First, 1780
It is true that Christianity doesn't fit neatly into political
categories. But it's also true that the left doesn't fit even roughly into
the Christian one. --
Selwyn Duke
It's all right to pull the cow out of the mud on Sunday, provided that you don't push him in on
Saturday night. -- Harold B. Lee
It's hard to stumble when you're on your knees. -- Author Unknown
It's service, not status, that counts. -- Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign, July 1975, p 5)
It's time to stop trying to put God in a box; instead, we must put the
misbegotten separation of church and state argument where it belongs: a pine
box. If we do not, that is most assuredly where our civilization will end
up. -- Selwyn Duke
It takes a lifetime to learn the lessons that are taught in the house of the Lord. Each time a person
goes he can learn something new about the gospel that he has not fully understood before. -- J. Duane
Dudley (Ensign, Aug. 1974, p 68)
It takes courage to be a man or woman of integrity when those around you forsake gospel principles for expediency or convenience. -- President Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, Sep 2001, p 4)
It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would
make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven
symphony as a variation of wave pressure. -- Albert Einstein
I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is. -- Author Unknown
Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself. -- Author Unknown
Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice
of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto
life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith
necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained
without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice,
and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and
it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do
actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the
sight of God. -- Joseph Smith (Lectures on Faith 6:7)
Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. --
George Washington, ca. 1789
Man has made 32 million laws since the Commandments were handed down to
Moses on Mount Sinai...but he has never improved on God's law....They
are the charter and guide of human liberty, for there can be no liberty
without the law. -- Cecil B. DeMille
Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue
on. -- Sir Winston Churchill
Many of those who don't have a testimony shouldn't have one -- they haven't earned one. A testimony
comes only after sincere prayer and study. Sincerity is manifested by fasting, obedience, and wanting to
believe. -- Blaine Nay
Many people hold onto a grudge because it offers the illusion of power and a perverse feeling of
security. But in fact, we are held hostage by our anger. It is never too late to forgive. But you can
forgive too soon. I am especially wary of what I call "saintly forgiveness." Premature
forgiveness is common among people who avoid conflict. They're afraid of their own anger and the anger of
others. But their forgiveness is false. Their anger goes underground. I define forgiving as letting
someone back into your heart. This returns us to a loving state -- and not merely within the relationship
-- we feel good about ourselves and the world. True forgiveness isn't easy, but it transforms us
significantly. To forgive is to love and to feel worthy of love. In that sense, it is always worthwhile.
-- Robert Karen, PhD (Bottom Line Personal, Nov 1, 2001, p 3-4)
May we dedicate our lives to serving the Lord and not worry about
offending the devil. —- James E. Faust (Ensign, Sep 1995)
More than any gift or toy, ornament of tree, let us resolve that this
Christmas shall be, like that first Christmas, a celebration of interior
treasures. -- Ronald Reagan
Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and
out of favor. -- Robert Frost
Most people do not pray; they only beg. -- George Bernard Shaw
Much of the sorrow and distress that is afflicting and will continue to afflict mankind is traceable to
the fact that they have ignored his [God's] admonition to keep the Sabbath day holy. -- George Albert
Smith (Conference Report, October 1935, p. 120.)
Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive. -- Author Unknown
No blessing that is sealed upon us will do us any good unless we live for it. -- (Journal
of Discourses, vol. 11, p. 117)
Nobody is lost until somebody has given up. -- Gordon B. Hinckley
(Ensign, Oct. 2003, p 22)
No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always
convinced that it says what he means. -- George Bernard Shaw
No man will ever apostatize so long as he will pay his tithing. It is reasonable. Why? Because as long as
he has faith to pay his tithing he has faith in the Church and in the principles of the Gospel, and there
is some good in him, and there is some light in him. As long as he will do this the tempter will not
overcome him and will not lead him astray. -- Joseph F. Smith (Millennial Star, 25 Oct 1906, p.
674)
No matter where we begin, if we pursue knowledge diligently and honestly our quest will inevitably lead
us from the things of earth to the things of heaven. -- Hugh Nibley (Of All Things, page 219)
Now that science appears to be showing that the human brain is hard-wired to believe in God, does this
mean that atheists are brain-damaged? -- Paul Deparrie (Reader's Digest, Feb 2002, p 14)
Obedience is a powerful spiritual medicine. It comes close to being a cure-all. -- Boyd K. Packer (Ensign,
November 1977, page 60)
Obedience is a part of greatness. -- Mark E. Petersen (Ensign, Nov 1974, p 48)
Obedience leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated. --
James E. Faust (Ensign, May 1999, p 45)
Obedience [to God's commandments] is a powerful
spiritual medicine. It comes close to being a cure-all. -- Boyd K. Packer (Ensign,
Nov 1977, p 60)
Once we know a spiritual truth we must choose whether we will conform our
lives to it. -- Henry B. Eyring (Ensign, Nov 1998, p 34)
One of the genuine phenomenons over the past four decades has been the liberal community's steadfast
insistence that God should be barred from the public sphere. This is not law. It is religious prejudice.
-- Armstrong Williams
One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr has been burned at
the stake while the votes were being counted. -- Rep. Thomas Reed, 1885
On the straight and narrow path, there are simply no corners to be cut. -- Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign,
November 1988, page 33)
Order is heaven's first law. -- Alexander Pope
Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it be redeemed
spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the spirit of
Christ and being made free and happy by the practices which spring out of
that spirit. Only thus can discontent be driven out and all the shadows
lifted from the road ahead. -- Woodrow Wilson, US President (The Road
Away From Revolution)
Our relationship with God is not a goal to attain before we die. It is something to enjoy while we are
still alive. -- W. Denis Nurmela
Our spirits...require nourishment. Just as there is food for the body,
there is food for the spirit. The consequences of spiritual malnutrition are
just as hurtful to our spiritual lives as physical malnutrition is to our
physical bodies. -- Dallin H. Oaks (Ensign, Dec 1998, p 7)
Peace
is an emotion that Satan cannot duplicate. -- Author Unknown
People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. -- Dave Barry
Pray devoutly, but hammer stoutly. -- Sir William G. Benham
Prayer is the single most powerful tool we have on Earth. And yet
so many people misunderstand it -- or ignore it altogether. Prayer
is our ability to talk directly to God -- and to listen to God tell
us how to live our lives. Those who ignore prayer -- and God, too --
are missing the best part of life. -- John LeBoutillier
Prayer keeps man from sin, and sin keeps man from prayer. -- Brigham Young (Ensign, January,
1974, page 19)
Prepare now to go on a mission. It will not be a burden. It will not be a waste of time. It will be a
great opportunity and a great challenge. It will do something for you that nothing else will do for you.
It will sharpen your skills. It will train you in leadership. It will bring testimony and conviction into
your heart. You will bless the lives of others as you bless your own. It will bring testimony and
conviction into your heart. You will bless the lives of others as you bless your own. It will bring you
nearer to God and to His Divine Son as you bear witness and testimony of Him. Your knowledge of the gospel
will strengthen and deepen. Your love for your fellowmen will increase. Your fears will fade as you stand
boldly in testimony of the truth. -- Gordon B. Hinckley (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p 365)
Primary (the LDS Church's Sunday school for children) is where you go to do with somebody else's mother
the things you would do with your own mother if she weren't so busy teaching Primary. -- Mary Ann Evans (Ensign,
Dec. 1971, page 152)
Procrastination as applied to gospel principles is the thief of eternal life. -- Joseph Fielding Smith,
April 1969
Rationalization is one of the real obstacles to obedience. -- Russell M. Nelson (Ensign,
November 1987, page 88)
[R]eligion and virtue are the only foundations, not of republicanism and
of all free government, but of social felicity under all government and in
all the combinations of human society. -- John Adams (letter in response to
Rush letter above, 8/28 1811)
Religion in a Family is at once its brightest Ornament & its best
Security. -- Samuel Adams (letter to Thomas Wells, 22 November 1780)
Religion is not bad, but there is bad religion. --
Selwyn Duke
Religion is not just a matter of saying your prayers and paying your tithing and keeping the Word of
Wisdom. Religion is not just a matter of going to church. Religion is not just a matter of any outward
form or ceremony. Religion is a way of life. Your life. What are you going to do with it, and why? Do you
want to succeed? Well, what do you mean, succeed? I'll save that for another discussion, but you answer
it. Just what is it you want? What success are you talking about? What kind of a man, what kind of a woman
do you want to be? What would you like your friends to think of when they think of you? What kind of
imprint and impression do you want to make on the world? -- Hugh B. Brown (The Abundant Life, p.
161)
Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty
and happiness. -- Samuel Adams (letter to John Trumbull, 16 Oct 1778)
Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to mankind -- the ironic part is that it's presented as
a good thing, and its effect is absolutely catastrophic to individuals and to societies. -- George Carlin
Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for
every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect. -- James Madison (letter to
William Bradford, 1 Apr 1774)
Salvation does not come all at once; we are commanded to be perfect even
as our Father in heaven is perfect. It will take us ages to accomplish
this end, for there will be greater progress beyond the grave, and it will
be there that the faithful will overcome all things, and receive all things,
even the fullness of the Father’s glory. -- Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines
of Salvation, 2:18–19)
Satan possesses knowledge, far more than we have, but he has not intelligence or he would render
obedience to the principles of truth and right....Pure intelligence comprises not only knowledge, but also
the power to properly apply that knowledge. -- Joseph F. Smith (Gospel Doctrine, p 58)
Science may someday discover what faith has always known. -- Ashleigh
Brilliant
Some folks wear their halos much too tight. -- Author Unknown
Some men are willing to die for their faith, but they are not willing to fully live for it. -- Ezra
Taft Benson (Ensign, December 1988, page 2)
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. -- Garth Brooks, Pat Alger and Larry Bastian
Some people have faith in science and use religious principles in its practice while demanding the
scientific methodology of religion. Why would you expect that what is taught our children in the schools
about evolution be the standard against which we should measure the scriptures? Scientific theories are
just that. They are theories, not facts. The scriptures contain “the word of God revealed to many.” I
don’t think that there is much question about whether to believe God or science. The problem arises when
we try to put unsupportable interpretations on the word of God and unsubstantiated belief in the theories
of scientists. Scientific theories change so fast that college text books of fifty years ago have no value
in today’s curricula. -- Ask Gramps, www.ldsliving.com
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. We are blessed to live in a
time when the priesthood keys are on the earth. We are blessed to know where
to look and how to listen for the voice that will fulfill the promise of the
Lord that He will gather us to safety. I pray for you and for me that we
will have humble hearts, that we will listen, that we will pray, that we
will wait for the deliverance of the Lord which is sure to come as we are
faithful. -- Henry B. Eyring (Ensign, May 1997, p 24)
Sometimes when I'm faced with an unbeliever, an atheist, I am tempted to invite him to the greatest
gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him
if he believes there's a cook. -- Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), US President
Some worry endlessly over missions that were missed, or marriages that
did not turn out, or babies that did not arrive, or children that seem lost,
or dreams unfulfilled, or because age limits what they can do. I do not
think it pleases the Lord when we worry because we think we never do enough
or that what we do is never good enough....Some needlessly carry a heavy
burden of guilt which could be removed through confession and repentance. --
President Boyd K. Packer (Ensign, Nov 2004, p 87)
Sunday is a day of rest. Loafing is not rest. -- Baden-Powell of Gilwell
Teach children tolerance. No one need surrender his or her own beliefs while extending tolerance to
those with other beliefs. -- Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something, p 159)
That wise Men have in all Ages thought Government necessary for the Good
of Mankind; and, that wise Governments have always thought Religion
necessary for the well ordering and well-being of Society, and accordingly
have been ever careful to encourage and protect the Ministers of it, paying
them the highest publick Honours, that their Doctrines might thereby meet
with the greater Respect among the common People. -- Benjamin Franklin (On
that Odd Letter of the Drum, April 1730)
The Church is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect
things, or have perfect thoughts, or have perfect feelings. The Church is a
place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and
service to each other....We are here with the same purpose: to learn to love
Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor
as ourselves. -- Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, p 28)
The concerted effort to minimize Christmas has resulted in it being our
national Happy Holiday holiday. The Christmas season is now the holiday
season. Christmas parties are now holiday parties. Christmas is a time for
giving and receiving presents and in many homes, nothing more. Who is this
fellow, Jesus Christ, anyway? -- Lyn Nofziger
The devil has many tools. Dishonesty if the handle that fits them all. --
Author Unknown
The devil never did care how many dead prophets the people believed in, and he does not care today. But
he does care if they believe in the living prophets. -- Ben E. Rich (General Conference Report,
October 1901)
The efficacy of our prayers depends on how we care for one another. -- Marion G. Romney (Ensign,
November 1980, page 93)
The fact that we have allowed ourselves to drift from our religious
heritage is the most dangerous thing the world has ever done. -- Glenn
Kimball
The female figure is the greatest known evidence that there might be a
God...but the female psyche is an indication that this God has a very sick
sense of humor. -- John Ziegler
The First Amendment...does not say that in every respect there shall be a
separation of Church and State....Otherwise the state and religion would be
aliens to each other -- hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly....The
state may not establish a 'religion of secularism' in the sense of
affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus preferring
those who believe in no religion over those who do believe. -- Justice
William Douglas
The first condition of happiness is a clear conscience. -- (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals,
[1954], p 498)
The gap between what is popular and what is righteous is widening. -- President James E. Faust,
October 2003
The gospel stands as true for those who reject it as for those who accept
it--both will be judged by it. -- Boyd K. Packer (Conference Report,
Oct 1974, p 127)
The greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God
speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right. -- Thomas S. Monson (Ensign,
Nov 1988, p 46)
The greatest thought that has ever entered my mind is the consciousness of my individual responsibility
to God. -- Daniel Webster
The issue is not going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and
renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through
the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the
covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord's house. The issue is not going on
a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout
our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. -- David
A. Bednar (Ensign, Nov 2005, p 45)
The liberal take on Catholicism is that it's a controversial religion
because of its positions on abortion, sodomy and various other crucial
planks of the Democrat platform (curiously, positions that are shared by all
three of the world's major religions). -- Ann Coulter
The Lord is not so concerned about what we study or what profession we follow as long as it is an
honest living. -- Eldred G. Smith (Ensign, May 1978, page 29) The Lord never had -- and never will have to the end of time -- a church on the earth without prophets, apostles, and inspired men. Whenever the Lord had a people on the earth that he acknowledged as such, that people were led by revelation. -- Wilford Woodruff (Journal of Discourses, 24:240)
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 soul with more
than sensual pleasures. -- Joseph Addison
The new morality preached from the media's pulpit is nothing more than the old immorality. -- Elder M.
Russell Ballard, Oct 2003
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -- John Bartlett
The peril of this century is spiritual apathy. As the body requires sunlight, good food, proper
exercise and rest, so the spirit of man requires the sunlight of the Holy Spirit; proper exercise of the
spiritual functions; the avoiding of evils that affect spiritual health, that are more ravaging in their
effects than typhoid fever, pneumonia, or other diseases that attack the body. -- David O. McKay
The prime duty of help to the poor by the Church is not to bring temporal
relief to their needs, but salvation to their souls. -- Marion G. Romney
(Conference Report , Oct 1977, p 118)
The principle part of faith is patience. -- George MacDonald
The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes. -- Dave Barry
The purpose of Church welfare is not to relieve a Church member from
taking care of himself....to care for people on any other basis is to do
them more harm than good. Marion G. Romney (Welfare Services Meeting, 5 Oct
1974)
The purpose of religion isn't to guarantee a ticket to heaven,
though the churches of the world would like to imply that this is the
case. No religion has the right to take that responsibility out of
your hands. Nowhere in scripture does it say that by belonging to a
perfect religion that we will go to heaven. The requirements for
heaven are something much more personal. No membership, recommend,
ordinance or procedure will compensate for what we must do
personally. People will get into heaven because they make the
personal choice between good and evil and decide that goodness is
their only option. To think that we can dip our toes into evil from
time to time and be forgiven because of a church is childish thinking. --
Glenn Kimball
The reformation was preceded by the discovery of America, as if the
Almighty graciously meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future
years, when home should afford neither friendship nor safety. -- Thomas
Paine (Common Sense, 1776)
There is an anti-Christian bias in this country [USA], and it is more on
display at Christmas season than any other time. -- Bill O'Reilly, The
O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel
There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily. -- George
Washington
There is no music in hell, for all good music belongs to heaven. --
Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses, 9:244)
There is no such thing as unlawful censorship in the home. Movies, magazines, television, videos, the
Internet, and other media are there as guests and should only be welcomed when they are appropriate for
family enjoyment. -- M. Russell Ballard (April 1999 General Conference)
There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it. --
George Bernard Shaw
The religion of a man is not the creed he professes but his life -- what he acts upon and knows of life
and his duty in it. A bad man who believes in a creed is no more religious than the good man who does not.
-- Baden-Powell
There's a fundamental contradiction in the notion that faith is a private
matter. For, such a contention implies that a faith that's worth embracing,
depriving oneself for, governing one's life with and perhaps dying for, is
not worth proclaiming. The adoption of this idea is an extension of the
admonition, "Never discuss religion or politics." However, it's a
prescription for superficiality because it's just another way of saying,
"Never discuss anything of importance." --
Selwyn Duke
The search for God is the search for reality. -- Sidney E. Mead
The sum of the whole matter is this, that our civilization cannot survive
materially unless it be redeemed spiritually. -- Woodrow Wilson (The Road
Away from Revolution, Atlantic Monthly, Aug 1923)
The truth which makes men free is, for the most part, the truth which men prefer not to hear -- Herbert
Sebastian Agar
The wall of separation between church and state is a metaphor based upon
bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It
should be frankly and explicitly abandoned....The greatest injury of the
'wall' notion is its mischievous diversion of judges from the actual
intention of the drafters of the Bill of Rights. -- William Rehnquist, US
Supreme Court Chief Justice
The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things -- bad language
and whatever -- it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition. -- George Carlin,
Comedian
The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made
to support it by argument, it comes as a definite, abstract statement of
fact. So it is from the first words...to the last, the works of the Father
are declared as facts, not theories. -- Anthony W. Ivins Conference Report,
Apr 1918
Those who insist that a Church program exist for every contingency and
need are as much in error as their counterparts who demand that government
intervene in every aspect of our lives. In both instances the ideal balance
is destroyed with a resultant detriment to human progress. -- Dean L. Larsen
(Ensign, May 1980)
Through the lens of spirituality, we see all the commandments of God as
invitations to blessings. -- Dallin H. Oaks (Ensign, Nov 1985, p 61)
Time is so fleeting that if we do not remember God in our youth, age may find us incapable of thinking
of him. -- Hans Christian Andersen (Ensign, May 1975 p 57)
Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk. -- Author Unknown
To disbelieve is easy; to scoff is simple; to have faith is harder. -- Louis L'Amour
Too frequently we strive to live as good a life as our peers, when we should be striving to live like
the Savior. -- Dr. Jae R. Ballif, Physics Professor, Brigham Young University
Too many people offer God prayers, with claw marks all over them. -- Author Unknown
To seek God by rituals is to get the ritual and lose God in the process.
-- Meister Eckhart
Trials are an evidence of a Father's love. they are given as blessings to his children. They are given
as opportunities for growth." -- H. Burke Peterson
True disciples are those who go beyond simply believing. They act out their belief. -- James E. Faust (Ensign,
May 1985, page 30)
True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will
improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Boyd K. Packer (Ensign, May
2004, p 79)
True knowledge never shuts the door on more knowledge, but zeal often does. -- Hugh Nibley (Of All
Things, p 218)
Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now - always. -- Albert
Schweitzer
Truth has to fall on fertile soil. -- Paula D'Arcy
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but
believe that you may understand. -- St. Augustine of Hippo
Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion
will always be sacrificed. -- Epictetus
We acquire a testimony of the principles of the gospel by obediently trying to live them. -- James E.
Faust, Oct 2003
We and God have business with each other; and in opening ourselves to his influence our deepest destiny
is fulfilled. The universe, and those parts of it which our personal being constitutes, takes a turn
genuinely for the worse or the better in proportion as each one of us fulfills or evades God's commands.
-- William Jones, Psychologist (1902)
We are looked upon by God as though we were in eternity; God dwells in
eternity, and does not view things as we do. -- Joseph Smith (History of
the Church, 6:313)
We are the nation’s watchmen, no other people collectively love the Constitution and honor it and
hold it as a divinely inspired document as do the Latter-day Saints. -- Vaughn J. Featherstone (Ensign,
Nov. 1975, p 7)
We cannot justify ourselves in living by that particular part of the word that appeals to us, the part that we desire to obey, but must be willing to. . . live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. -- Albert E. Bowen (General Conference Report, May 1983, p 66)
We cannot survive spiritually with one foot in the Church and the other in the world. -- Bruce R.
McConkie, (Ensign, Nov. 1974, p 33)
We do not lose our faith from a blowout -- just by slow leaks. -- Thomas E. McKay
We don't change the message, the message changes us. -- Author Unknown
We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the
Mount....The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a
world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. -- General Omar Bradley
We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. -- Jonathan
Swift
We have to believe in free will. We have no choice. -- Author Unknown
Well, I have a testimony, I may be ignorant, but I am not lost. -- Hugh Nibley
Well-taught doctrines and principles have a more powerful influence on
behavior than rules. -- Dallin H. Oaks (Ensign, Nov 1999, p 79)
What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive? -- Irv Kupcinet
Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof until
all of the events transpire. -- Joseph Smith (History of the Church, 5:135)
Whatever the scientists may say, if we take the supernatural out of life, we leave only the unnatural.
-- Amelia Barr (All the Days of My Life, 1913)
What on earth have a man's name, degree, academic position, and of all things, opinions, to do with
whether a thing is true? -- Hugh Nibley
When a defiled man is born again, his habits are changed, his thoughts
cleansed, his attitudes regenerated and elevated, his activities put in
total order, and everything about him that was dirty, degenerate or
reprobate is washed and made clean. -- Spencer W. Kimball (Ensign,
Mar 1982, p 2)
When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of
our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life. It
will help to determine how you spend your time and with whom you choose to
associate. It will affect the way you treat your family, how you interact
with others. It will bring love, peace, and joy into your life. -- Thomas S.
Monson (Ensign, May 2005, p 114)
When people say, 'Religion is all right for some, but I am not religious, and it
means nothing to me,' is it because they have not experienced the
uplift that comes from sacrificing for and serving their fellowmen?
-- John H. Vandenberg (Ensign, June 1971, p63)
When some people don't want to work for something, they pray for it. --
Gene Mora in Graffiti
When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend'
dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that
they can no longer see the heavens. -- Pope John Paul II
Where doubt is, there faith has no power. -- Joseph Smith (Lectures on
Faith, 1985, p 46)
Why do we justify anti-religion laws by citing a clause [in the US Constitution] prohibiting such laws?
What twisted logic cites 'religious freedom' rights in order to favor atheism over religion? -- Steve M.
Thomas (Preparing the Elders of Israel to Save the Constitution, Horizon Publishers, p 91)
Why Go To Church? A member of the church wrote a letter to the editor of
a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every
Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have
heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember
a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are
wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." This started a real controversy in
the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It
went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: "I've been married for
30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for
the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those
meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength
I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be
physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for
nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" -- Author Unknown
With every passing day, we are being more
pressured to choose whether or not we will serve the true and living God.
The days of fence-sitting seem to be swiftly drawing to a close. The US
Senate just voted on whether the people of the United States of America
believe in supporting the God-given institution of marriage. We often try to
serve two masters. We love to live in Babylon, enjoying excessive sensual
pleasures and worshipping the god of comfort, often forgetting that
sacrifice and service are the Lord's path....We have been convinced to stop
praying in public. Will we also agree to stop reading scriptures? How far
can we be pushed before we take a stand?....The purpose of life is not to avoid death, but rather to serve God even at the peril of death. --
John P. Pratt
Without a knowledge of the gospel plan, transgression seems natural,
innocent, even justified. -- Boyd K Packer
Without sacrifice there is no true worship of God. The Father gave his
Son, and the Son gave his life, and we do not worship unless we give -- give
of our substance, our time, strength, talent, faith, [and] testimonies. --
Gordon B. Hinckley (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley,
1997, p 565)
Worthiness is a process, and perfection is an eternal trek. We can be
worthy to enjoy certain privileges without being perfect. -- Marvin J.
Ashton (Ensign, May 1989, p 20)
You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible! -- Ezra Taft Benson (Ensign, November
1977, page 30)
You can’t find God before an altar if that is the only place you look for
him. -- A. Powell Davies
You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and Elvis is alive! -- Author Unknown
You leave out God, and you substitute the devil. -- Winston Churchill
You see many stars at night in the sky but find them not when the sun
rises; can you say that there are no stars in the heaven of day? So, O man!
because you behold not God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there
is no God. -- Voltaire (1694-1778) French Philosopher and Author
You use the name of Deity in the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution of the United
States, and yet you cannot use it in the schoolroom. -- Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain
You want to make your own decisions, but you ought to make those decisions
with an eternal perspective. -- James E. Faust (Ensign, May 2006, p 112) |
