More Quotes from
Church Leaders
Relationships
"Life is eternal. Death does not terminate
the existence of man. He lives on and on... The greatest joys of true married
life can be continued. The most beautiful relationships of parents and
children can be made permanent. The holy association of families can be
never-ending if husband and wife have been sealed in the holy bonds of
eternal matrimony. Their joys and progress will never end."
-Spencer W. Kimball
The First Presidency has
given us some specific counsel about the time we spend together as families:
"Meet together often, and share the problems and successes of the day.
Plan your work and activities together so that each person may do his share
and contribute to a happy family. We promise that as you do this and as
your family members regularly pray together, sing together, read and discuss
the scriptures together, and share their testimonies with each other, love
and harmony will increase in your home."
"May I suggest that we give more of ourselves.... It might
be something as simple as smiling more in your home.
"What would you think of speaking more
cheerfully? Trying more often to say please and thank you?
"What would you think of finding an opportunity
for one sincere compliment for each [person] each day, and then watching
them respond?
"What if you decided to be cheerful tonight
at the dinner table, and in spite of what others might do or say, hold
to your course. See how long you can uplift your whole family."
-H. Burke Peterson
"The whole aim and purpose
of the gospel is to enable men and women – united as one in the Lord –
to create for themselves eternal family units in eternity. Celestial marriage
prepares us for the greatest joy and happiness known to mortals and for
eternal life in the realms ahead.
"May we say, as many have done before,
that what men call Mormonism is the very system of laws and truths which
will make of earth a heaven and of man a god."
-Bruce R. McConkie
“God’s children need to be
loved, and to have someone to love… We have two great challenges, you and
I, and the challenge never ends as long as breath lasts: to choose him
and to love each other. Then we may be sure we will know him in this
world and at last in that kingdom which is not of this world.”
–Marion D. Hanks
"Perhaps you have something to give that
is as simple as love, or dedication, or hard work, or anything else that
may be missing in someone's life. Try it. Share it. You'll never know what
it may do for another."
H. Burke Peterson
In my teaching of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, I have accepted this fundamental truth: what we know about
God and our relationship to him comes from what God has revealed—the standard
works of the Church and the teachings of the living prophets. I believe
that if we could follow, without reservation, this principle, we of this
dispensation could become of “one heart and of one mind.” We would be one,
and in that oneness we would be the Lord’s.
Roy W. Doxey
Brigham Young University devotional
address
"I believe that no worthy
young Latter-day Saint man or woman should spare any reasonable effort
to come to a house of the Lord to begin life together....
"The blessings and promises that come from
beginning life together, for time and eternity, in a temple of the Lord,
cannot be obtained in any other way and worthy young Latter-day Saint men
and women who so begin life together find that their eternal partnership
under the everlasting covenant becomes the foundation upon which are built
peace, happiness, virtue, love, and all of the other eternal verities of
life, here and hereafter"
Heber J. Grant
“Marriage is perhaps the most
vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it
has to do not only with immediate happiness, but eternal joys as well.
It affects not only the two people involved, but also their families and
particularly their children and their children’s children down through
the many generations.”
Spencer W. Kimball
"The blessed part of being a peacemaker
is that those who are peacemakers and who live the gospel principles receive
a testimony borne of the Holy Ghost. They enjoy the peace that surpasseth
all understanding, relief from inner tensions, joy and happiness, contentment,
growth, and development."
Franklin D. Richards
"You can recognize the Spirit
of Christ within you when you speak to one another or speak of another
person with a warm smile instead of with a frown or scowl."
Theodore M. Burton
"The dignity of self is greatly enhanced
by looking upward in the search for holiness. Like the giant trees, we
should reach up for the light.... I have seen human dignity and self-worth
expressed eloquently in the lives of the humblest of the humble, in the
lives of the poor as well as in the lives of the formally educated and
the affluent."
James E. Faust
"The values of faith in God and virtuous
behavior... are often rejected by many as worthless. This is a route destined
to failure because it does not take into account the powerful importance
of the subjective things we can know but not measure. For instance, I love
my wife and family, and I feel their love for me. You cannot measure how
deep our feelings of love are for each other, but that love is very real
to us. Pain is also difficult to measure, but it is real. The same is true
of faith in God. We can know of His existence without being able to quantitatively
measure it. Paul states, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,
that we are the children of God' [Romans 8:16]."
James E. Faust
One of the greatest weaknesses in most
of us is our lack of faith in ourselves. One of our common failings is
to depreciate our tremendous worth.
L. Tom Perry
"A shallow self-image is not [improved]
by always letting others establish our standards and by habitually succumbing
to peer pressure. Young people too often depend upon someone else's image
rather than their own."
James E. Faust
"A wise teacher and stake Relief Society
president... flashed a 1arge picture on a screen. It showed a bright-eyed
boy with unkempt hair and folded arms, deep in thought. The caption
read, 'I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make no junk.' Please let me
repeat, 'I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make no junk.'...
"Every human being in every walk of life
needs help in building his self-respect and self-reliance.... A person's
image of himself is nothing more or less than what he has learned through
his experiences and his interactions with others. It is rewarding to note
that someone has helped a typical boy develop his personal identity. Someone,
perhaps a mother, a Primary teacher, a neighbor, or even a song like 'I
Am a Child of God,' has made this little boy realize he is someone. He
knew he wasn't junk. He knew he wasn't impossible. He knew he was a human
being loved by his Heavenly Father."
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
Let us not forget that during the burdens
of home life - and they come - that tender words of appreciation, courteous
acts are even more appreciated than during those sweet days and months
of courtship.... Love can be starved to death as literally as the body
that receives no sustenance. Love feeds upon kindness and courtesy.
David O. McKay
If you will make your first concern the
comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating
any personal concern to that loftier goal, you will be happy, and
your marriage will go on through eternity.
Gordon B. Hinckley
... Cherish one another, watch over one
another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit
down in heaven together.
Lucy Mack Smith
Be one who nurtures and builds. Be one
who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, who looks for the best
in people. Leave people better than you found them.
Marvin J. Ashton
Properly understood and practiced, self-reliance
is a desirable saintly virtue; when it leaves the Lord out of the picture,
however, it becomes a vice that leads men from the paths of righteousness....
But with it all, man of himself is not
wholly self-sufficient. He is not to trust solely in his own strength,
nor in the arm of flesh. The Lord is his Counselor and Deliverer, upon
whom he must rely for guidance, direction, and inspiration.
Bruce R. McConkie
The family is the most important organization
in time or in eternity. Our purpose in life is to create for ourselves
eternal family units.
Joseph Fielding Smith
There is a power in goodness that is often
learned in families. There is a void when it is lacking.
Janette Hales Beckham
Our lives are blessed as we learn lessons
from trusted friends whose disabilities and humility invite the Spirit.
They teach us a new dimension of faith, courage, patience, love, and individual
worth.
Elder W. Craig Zwick
"I believe that no worthy young Latter-day
Saint man or woman should spare any reasonable effort to come to a house
of the Lord to begin life together. The marriage vows taken in these hallowed
places and the sacred covenants entered into for time and all eternity
are proof against many of the temptations of life that tend to break homes
and destroy happiness.
"The blessings and promises that come from
beginning life together, for time and eternity, in a temple of the Lord,
cannot be obtained in any other way and worthy young Latter-day Saint men
and women who so begin life together find that their eternal partnership
under the everlasting covenant becomes the foundation upon which are built
peace, happiness, virtue, love, and all of the other eternal verities of
life, here and hereafter."
Heber J. Grant
"Now, the seeds of a happy married life
are sown in youth. Happiness does not begin at the altar; it begins during
the period of youth and courtship. These seeds of happiness are sown by
your ability to master your driving passions. Chastity should be the dominant
virtue among young people. In the Church there is but a single standard.
It applies to the boys as well as to the girls. If you follow that standard
– indeed, if you will listen to the promptings of your own true heart –
you will learn that self-mastery during youth and compliance with
the single standard of morality is the source of virile manhood, the crown
of beautiful womanhood, the foundation of a happy home, and a contributing
factor to the strength and perpetuity of the race.
"Laxity in youth is as a personal note
that must be paid in age. Twenty, thirty, forty years hence, you must pay
it. Mastery and chastity are also seeds sown which will pay large dividends
in years hence, and those years pass quickly – oh, so quickly."
David O. McKay
"I picture you coming to the temple to
be sealed for time and for all eternity. I yearn to talk to you about the
sacred sealing ordinance, but this we do not do outside those sacred walls.
The transcendent nature of all that is conferred upon us at the marriage
altar is so marvelous it is worth all the waiting and all the resisting....
"But this is not the fulfillment of the
story of love. In the book, or the play, on the stage, the curtain comes
down here. But it is not so in real love. This is not the conclusion –
only the beginning.”
Elder Boyd K. Packer
"Two obligations face the saints where
the matter of environment is concerned: 1. To create for themselves and
their families the most wholesome and edifying environment possible, so
there will be less chance of any member of the family circle being lost
through transgression; and 2. To rise above every unwholesome environmental
situation that may be encountered during the course of this mortal probation....
"... The saints should establish peace
and love in their families; engage in wholesome recreation only; perform
their daily labors in the cleanest and most wholesome environment possible;
associate with proper companions always; and seek to live under those surroundings
and influence that breathe the spirit of righteousness and faith. Constant
association with that which is low and vulgar inevitably leads to the debasement
of the human soul."
Bruce R. McConkie