Quotes by Religious Leaders - Page 5

We must search the scriptures, accepting them as the mind and will and voice of the Lord and the very power of God unto salvation.
Bruce R. McConkie
Just as meekness is in all our virtues, so is pride in all our sins. -Oct 1986
Neal A Maxwell
Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?
Ezra Taft Benson
The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Helaman 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, and their accomplishments against His mighty works.
Ezra Taft Benson
The proud wish God would agree with them. They are not interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's.
Ezra Taft Benson
Night never had the last word. The dawn is always invincible.
Hugh B. Brown
Cooperativeness is not so much learning how to get along with others as taking the kinks out of ourselves, so that others can get along with us.
Thomas S. Monson
The more surely you rear your children in the ways of the gospel of Jesus Christ, with love and high expectation, the more likely that there will be peace in their lives. Set an example for them. That will mean more than all the teaching you can give them. Do not overindulge them. Let them grow up with respect for and understanding of the meaning of labor, of working and contributing to the home and its surroundings, with some way of earning some of their own expense money. Let your sons save for missions, and encourage them to prepare themselves, not only financially, but spiritually and in an attitude to go out to serve the Lord without selfishness of any kind.
Gordon B. Hinckley
By choosing our path, we choose our destination.
Thomas S. Monson
Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God's greatest gift to man.
David O. McKay
When you cannot do what you have always done, then you only do what matters most.
Robert D. Hales
To help our youth abide by the principles involved in temple marriage, we must help them to understand that temple marriage is more than just a place where the ceremony occurs; it is a whole orientation to life and marriage and home. It is a culmination of building attitudes toward the Church, chastity, and about our personal relationship with God--and many other things. "Thus, simply preaching temple marriage is not enough. Our family home evenings, seminaries, institutes, and auxiliaries must build toward this goal, not by exhortation alone but by showing that the beliefs and attitudes involved in temple marriage are those which can bring the kind of life here and in eternity that most humans really want for themselves" (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p. 244).
Harold B. Lee
I am doing the servant job in order for you to become the owners of Heaven
Sun Myung Moon
Don’t be gloomy. Do not dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. ‘Accentuate the positive.’ Look a little deeper for the good. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life.
Gordon B. Hinckley
‎"We shouldn't wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time!
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Whoever believes in getting water feels no thirst.
Ali bin Abi Thalib a.s.
In my ninety-plus years, I have learned a secret. I have learned that when good men and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly, things always work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.
Gordon B. Hinckley
The spirit of the gospel is optimistic; it trusts in God and looks on the bright side of things. The opposite or pessimistic spirit drags men down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield obedience.
Orson F. Whitney
No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse. (Apr 2007 Gen Conf)
Jeffrey R. Holland
We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.
Neal A Maxwell
So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.
Thomas S. Monson
Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.
Gordon B. Hinckley
We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God. We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.
Ezra Taft Benson
We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high as or higher than we are.
Ezra Taft Benson
If one night you see someone committing a sin, tomorrow do not look at him as a sinner. He may have repented during the night and you did not know.
Ali ibn Abi Talib
In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby.
Ezra Taft Benson
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.
Dallin H. Oaks
There are promises of protection in the Word of Wisdom. The Lord’s word of wisdom commanding abstinence from a worldly “king’s portion” of tobacco, tea and coffee, and alcoholic beverages that are habit-forming, and which counsels the simple diet of fruits, grains, and vegetables in season, with meats used sparingly, has been given you as a revelation of God’s great law of health. It stands today as a challenge to a world surfeited with things condemned as unclean and unfit for the human body.If you have faith as the youthful Daniel and his brethren and purpose in your hearts that you will not defile yourselves with “king’s meat and wine,” even though you may be two thousand miles east of the Suez Canal, your faith will have the reward of hidden treasures of knowledge, of strong bodies that can “run and not be weary and walk and not faint.” If by faith in this great law, you refrain from the use of food and drink harmful to your bodies, you will not become a ready prey to scourges that shall sweep the land, as in the days of the people of Moses in Egypt, bringing death to every household that has not heeded the commandments of God.
Harold B. Lee
If someone's deeds lower his position, his pedigree cannot elevate it.
Ali ibn Abi Talib
Beware! Abstain from shedding blood without a valid cause. There is nothing more harmful than this which brings about one’s ruin. The blood that is willfully shed shortens the life of a state. On the Day of Judgement it is this crime for which one will have to answer first. So, beware! Do not wish to build the strength of your state on blood for, it is this blood which ultimately weakens the state and passes it into other hands. Before me and my God no excuse for willful killing can be entertained.
Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
...When a choice will make a real difference in our lives—obvious or not—and when we are living in tune with the Spirit and seeking his guidance, we can be sure we will receive the guidance we need to attain our goal.
Dallin H. Oaks
The choice of life is not between fame and fortune, nor wealth and poverty, but between good and evil.
Boyd K. Packer
Even water carves monuments of stone, so do our thoughts shape our character.
Hugh B. Brown
You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others… In this world so filled with problems, so constantly threatened by dark and evil challenges, you can and must rise above mediocrity, above indifference. You can become involved and speak with a strong voice for that which is right.
Gordon B. Hinckley
What you create doesn't have to be perfect....Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or inside
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Having gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not deliver it.
Thomas S. Monson
Modern scientific findings harmonize with revelation through the ages. No conflict exists between the gospel and any truth .... All true principles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no principle that we need to fear.
Spencer W. Kimball
Love is an illness which doesn't have good nor recompense.
Ali ibn Abi Talib
...The words testament and covenant are virtually synonymous in their theological usage, the Latin definition of testamentum being "a covenant with God, holy scripture." Thus, the Old and New Testaments, as we commonly refer to them, are written testimonies or witnesses (the Latin testis meaning "witness") of the covenants between God and man in various dispensations.
Jeffrey R. Holland
Do not take someone's silence as his pride,perhaps he is busy fighting with his self
Ali Ibn Abi Taleb
Surely silence can sometimes be the most eloquent reply.
Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow in your arms.
Neil A. Maxwell
Parents must try to be, or at least put forth their best efforts to be, what they wish [their] children to be. It is impossible for you to be an example of what you are not.
Joseph Fielding Smith
Most of you will marry and have children. They will become the source of your greatest pride and happiness. I hope so. Rear them in love. You don’t have to kick them around. You don’t have to get angry with them. You just have to love them. If they make mistakes, forgive them and help them to avoid a repetition. But let them see in you their truest and best friend, their constant support.
Gordon B. Hinckley
We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate.
Brigham Young
To gain the spiritual ascendancy over ourselves, and the influences with which we are surrounded, through a rigid course of self-discipline, is our first consideration, it is our first labor, before we can pave the way for our children to grow up without sin unto salvation.
Brigham Young
Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.
Julie B. Beck
The Man of Power is one who presides—By persuasion. He uses no demeaning words or behavior, does not manipulate others, appeals to the best in everyone, and respects the dignity andagency of all humankind—men, women, boys, and girls.By long-suffering. He waits when necessary and listens to the humblest or youngest person. He is tolerant of the ideas of others and avoids quick judgments and anger. By gentleness. He uses a smile more often than a frown. He is not gruff or loud or frightening; he does not discipline in anger.By meekness. He is not puffed up, does not dominate conversations, and is willing to conform his will to the will of God.By love unfeigned. He does not pretend. He is sincere, giving honest love without reservation even when others are unlovable.By kindness. He practices courtesy and thoughtfulness in little things as well as in the more obvious things. By pure knowledge. He avoids half-truths and seeks to be empathetic. Without hypocrisy. He practices the principles he teaches. He knows he is not always right and is willing to admit his mistakes and say ‘I’m sorry.'Without guile. He is not sly or crafty in his dealings with others, but is honest and authentic when describing his feelings.
H. Burke Peterson
Honesty will guide you to goodness, and goodness will invite you to heaven.
Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.
James E. Faust
The more often we see the things around us - even the beautiful and wonderful things - the more they become invisible to us. That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds - even those we love. Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.
Joseph B. Wirthlin
Verily, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and givinglike kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongfultransgression. (The Holy Quran, an-Nahl 16:91)This verse sets forth three gradations of doing good.The first is the doing of good in return for good.This is the lowest gradation and even an average personcan easily acquire this gradation that he should do goodto those who do good to him.The second gradation is a little more difficult thanthe first, and that is to take the initiative in doinggood out of pure benevolence. This is the middlegrade. Most people act benevolently towards thepoor, but there is a hidden deficiency in benevolence,that the person exercising benevolence is consciousof it and desires gratitude or prayer in return for hisbenevolence. If on any occasion the other personshould turn against him, he considers him ungrateful.On occasion he reminds him of his benevolence orputs some heavy burden upon him.The third grade of doing good is graciousness asbetween kindred. God Almighty directs that in thisgrade there should be no idea of benevolence or anydesire for gratitude, but good should be done out ofsuch eager sympathy as, for instance, a mother doesgood to her child. This is the highest grade of doinggood which cannot be exceeded. But God Almightyhas conditioned all these grades of doing good withtheir appropriate time and place. The verse citedabove clearly indicates that if these virtues are notexercised in their proper places they would becomevices.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently.
Thomas S. Monson
Who is to blame? The filth peddler, of course, but even more than this vulgar entertainer, the filth consumer, the public. So long as men are corrupt and revel in sewer filth, entertainers will sell them what they want. Laws may be passed, arrests may be made, lawyers may argue, courts may sentence and jails may harbor men of corrupt minds, but pornography and allied insults to decency will never cease until men have cleansed their minds and cease to require and pay for such vile stuff. When the customer is sick and tired of being drowned in filth by the comedians, he will not pay for that filth and its source will dry up.
Spencer W. Kimball
Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench.
Bahá'u'lláh
​"But you can thank God the Lord for His inconceivable goodness, which can be recognized daily and hourly throughout your entire existence, if only you honestly try! Your whole life shall therefore become a thanksgiving!
Abd-Ru-Shin
Get to know the right, then you would know the people of right. Right Is not measured by its men, but men are measured by their right.
Ali ibn Abi Talib
A moment of Patience in a moment of Anger saves a thousand moments of Regret.
Ali Ibn Abu Talib
To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible.
Thomas S. Monson
‎"The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellow-men, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of life." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 18, 1954)
Shoghi Effendi