Fathers in Israel

"Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released. Callings in the Church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place. But a father's calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity."


--Ezra Taft Benson, "To the Fathers in Israel,", Ensign, Nov 1987, 48

Do the very best we can

We don't have to be perfect today. We don't have to be better than someone else. All we have to do is to be the very best we can."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "One Step after Another,", Nov. Ensign 2001 pg. 25

Live for Others

“Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.”

– Albert Schweitzer

Doing the best we can

"We should learn to be patient with ourselves. Recognizing our strengths and our weaknesses, we should strive to use good judgment in all of our choices and decisions, make good use of every opportunity, and do our best in every task we undertake. We should not be unduly discouraged nor in despair at any time when we are doing the best we can. Rather, we should be satisfied with our progress even though it may come slowly at times."


--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Patience, a Key to Happiness", Ensign, May 1987, 30

Let us not procrastinate

There is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most."


--Thomas S. Monson, "Treasure of Eternal Value", Ensign , April 2008, 4–9

Moral Agency

As we yield our will to His, God will tutor us in the successful use of our moral agency. We will find freedom to be, to feel, and to do."


--Name Elder D Todd Christofferson, "Allegiance to God", Ensign, Jan. 2005, 8

Adversities

"There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless."


--James E. Faust, "The Refiner's Fire," Ensign, May 1979, 53

Taxpayer

'The taxpayer : That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'- Ronald Reagan

Agency

To fully understand this gift of agency and its inestimable worth, it is imperative that we understand that God's chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long-suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation. He acts by gentle solicitation and by sweet enticement. He always acts with unfailing respect for the freedom and independence that we possess. He wants to help us and pleads for the chance to assist us, but he will not do so in violation of our agency. He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to his divine character."


--Howard W. Hunter, "The Golden Thread of Choice", Ensign, Nov. 1989, 17

Scripture Reading

Are you and I daily reading, studying, and searching the scriptures in a way that enables us to hold fast to the rod of iron—or are you and I merely clinging? Are you and I pressing forward toward the fountain of living waters—relying upon the word of God? These are important questions for each of us to ponder prayerfully."


--Elder David A. Bednar, "CES Fireside for Young Adults • February 4, 2007", Brigham Young University

Ancestry Joke

A modest gentleman in speaking of his family, said: "The Hardson family is a very, very old family. The line runs away back into antiquity. We not know how far back it runs, but it's a long, long way back, and history of the Hardson family is recorded in five volumes. In about the middle of the third volume, in a marginal note, we read, 'About this time the world was created.'"

Your Morning Smile

Your Morning Smile

A divinity student named Tweedle
Refused to accept his degree;
He didn't object to the "Tweedle,"
But hated the "Tweetle, D.D."

One that was too fast for him

A Frenchman was relating his experience in studying the English language. He said, "When I discovered that if I was quick, I was fast; that if I was tied, I was fast; if I spent too freely, I was fast; and that not to eat was to fast, I was discouraged. But when I came across the sentence, 'The first one won one-dollar prize,' I gave up trying."

Know Our Heritage

"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from."
~Alex Haley

Challenges

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
~ Joshua J. Marine

Kindness

"Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes."
--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Virtue of Kindness", Liahona, May 2005, 26–28

Genealogy and CSI

"I’ve always thought of genealogy as CSI without the icky bodies. Mysteries. Dead people. Detective work." -- Thomas MacEntee

Standards of Worthiness

“The Lord has given us His standards of worthiness. He has not done it to keep us away from Him but to draw us to Him.” -- President Henry B. Eyring,Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2003, 13.

Instruments in His Hands

"I have a little book that I carry with me, where I record the inspiration and thoughts that I receive from the Spirit. It does not look like much, and it becomes worn out and needs to be replaced from time to time. As thoughts come to my mind, I write them down and then I try to do them. I have found that many times, as I have done something on my list, my action was the answer to someone’s prayer. There have also been those times that I didn’t do something on my list, and I have found out later that there was someone I could have helped, but I didn’t. When we receive promptings regarding God’s children, if we write down the thoughts and inspiration we receive and then obey it, God’s confidence in us increases and we are given more opportunities to be instruments in His hands." Don R. Clarke, October Conference 2006
(Ensign November 2006, 97-99)

Sunrises

Few sunrises are greeted as eagerly as those viewed through the eyes of love.
-- Author Unknown

In honor of President Ronald Reagan on his 99th birthday

Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you—and especially for the young people here—is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here. May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance and never lose your natural, God-given optimism. And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill.”
~ Ronald Reagan (1992)

Happiness

Remember this, that very little is needed to make a happy life.
-- Marcus Aurelius

Invitations to Blessings

Through the lens of spirituality we see all the commandments of God as invitations to blessings. -- Elder Dallin H. Oaks November 1985

True Greatness

"True greatness...always requires regular, consistent, small, and sometimes ordinary and mundane steps over a long period of time."
--Howard W. Hunter, "True Greatness", Ensign, May 1982, 19

New LDS Temple in Payson, Utah

On January 25, 2010 President Thomas S. Monson announced that a temple will be built in Payson, Utah. It will be southwest of town and not too far from where the old Hurst Family Farm was. This is where Elden G. Hurst lived as a boy and a young man. He would be so pleased to know that a temple will be there now.